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Date: April 12, 2005 at 16:06:49
From: Leigh, [ool-18b96f53.dyn.optonline.net]
Subject: Re: 725+ Communities Say "End War!" --- IF AMERICA WERE...


It's a situation that has me torn, Jack - apologies for the delayed reply.

What to say but that, as is known, the insurgency started as a result of the American offensive. I would like to believe that pulling the Americans out would take away that trigger point. Will it indeed do that? I'm not certain. I'm not sure anyone can be. But the insurgents by and large are not targeting their own people. The vast majority of major attacks are against US troops or the Iraqi police and military that the US is building. Regrettably though, the insurgents are just as good at creating horrific "collateral damage" as are the Coalition forces.

Will the people welcome back the people who "terrorized" them? Although it may not appear so on US news, we have to remember that to many Iraqis the insurgents are not terrorists, but freedom fighters. At the same time though, right now anyone with a grudge has the occupation as an excuse to take up arms and settle scores, and there is a high level of thuggery in the form of burglaries, kidnappings, etc. Without the excuse of the occupation the hope would be that the level of these criminal acts will decrease once the Coalition forces have left.

I believe that we in the West believe we are the only ones with the smarts or the power to accomplish things, but there are a great number of able leaders in Iraq. Thomas Friedman (a war apologist, but still...) wrote recently about the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. As Friedman explained, it was Sistani who pushed for direct national elections when the US was proposing regional caucuses. And it was Sistani who was able to call off hard-line Shiite attempts to retaliate against Sunni Baathists. Perhaps we do need to leave Iraq in the hands of the Iraqis, and let them go about creating their future. I don't propose abandoning the Iraq people, but instead of offering military support lets channel those funds to further economic, infrastructure, social and nation building efforts.

Beyond the US helping to restore the economy and infrastructure, I would bet that with Coalition forces out numerous individual nations - under the guise of the UN, on their own, or as regional forces (e.g., the EU) - would step up to help with these projects. Rather than having the money go to Haliburton and other US/Coalition companies, that money could be channeled from donor nations to Iraqi concerns - helping solve some of the unemployment we created.

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